


Hidden Inside

by Bird of Smoke (smokeandwhistle)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Cats, Feelings, Hidden - Freeform, Love, M/M, Mask, Mates, Music, intelligent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-17
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-01-19 18:52:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1480291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smokeandwhistle/pseuds/Bird%20of%20Smoke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott McCall is not who he seems to be. Hidden behind a mask of cheerfulness he hides many interesting aspects. Is his false self ever going to break or is nobody able to learn who he truly is. Maybe a love of the past can show the world what is hidden inside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Disturbing News

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you like this story. It was one of two ideas I had recently and a very good friend of mine wanted me to write this one down. SO here it is :)  
> In later chapters there is going to be Scott/Jackson. If you don´t like it, consider yourself warned please.  
> I´m not entirely sure in which direction this story is going and how many chapters there are going to be, but well I like suprises so we just have to wait and see ^^  
> I´m going to stop writing now, please go on to the story and I hope you enjoy it.  
> Oh my first language is not english and while I know that that is not an excuse I hope you can ignore the mistakes.

Lazily he stretched and threw his keys into the basket which stood solely for that purpose on the small desk near the entrance. It was a Friday evening and he was exhausted from school and wanted nothing more than to sleep. But unfortunately he had a few things to do before he had enough freedom to allow himself to fall into the huge bed in the room on the upper floor.

He switched the lights on and looked around, deep satisfaction written all over his face. This house was his alone and it had been a lot of work. But now after the last few things had been finished it was perfect. As a high school student he had not a lot of money and had spent his entire fortune on that house. He had worked his ass off to gain enough money to fix everything in less than three years, job after job, not a cent went anywhere else than into the restoration or the furniture.

He walked into the kitchen, switched the coffee-machine on and made himself a sandwich, while he waited for said machine to be ready. A steaming, hot cup of coffee would be perfect to ensure that he would not fall asleep in the next few hours. As he sat on a stool next to the little bar he had built his phone buzzed. Looking the message over he smiled and pressed a button to phone the person who had sent him the text.

“Hey mom. Are you back from work already? No no I´m staying in my house tonight. Yeah everything´s fine. I just need a little peace to study and you know that nobody can find me here. I will be home tomorrow afternoon. See you.” His mom didn´t really have to know what he wanted to do today.

Sighing he stood up and went upstairs to switch into more casual clothes than his school attire. As a seventeen year old he of course lived with his mom but the house he was staying in right now was his escape from time to time. Moreover a really much needed escape. A nice old lady had written him into her will as the new owner of her house after her death. He had saved her old dog from drowning once when he went for a walk. She was really grateful, because the dog was her only companion. And because she was childless and had therefore nobody who looked after her she decided to give him everything she owned as a thank you. Everything except her money, which went to different animal homes in the near arena.

Nobody except his mom knew he owned that house, not even his friends. He wanted to keep it to himself because he desperately needed a place where nobody could enter. His life got really chaotic and dangerous in the last few years and he needed space to breath to escape insanity. His mom understood that and had sworn to never tell anyone about it, not even she herself had ever set a foot into his refugee.  
After changing into a plain black t-shirt and loose-fitting pants he went back downstairs. As a person who loved their freedom more than anything else he didn´t like it to stay or live in small rooms. That was another reason he wasn´t often home anymore because his room at home was rather small and made him sometimes feel like he was suffocating. That was also why he had destroyed all walls in his house after he got it. Now there was just one really big room on the ground floor. In it where a gigantic couch, a huge TV, some self-drawn pictures, the kitchen, a bar and some other necessities. It was all rather plain and simple. Exactly the way he liked it, also the colours where mostly black, grey and white, sometimes mixed with dark red.

He stepped down from the last step of the staircase that led into the upper floor where his bedroom, the bathroom and several guest rooms were situated. The old lady had once been really rich and therefore the house was practically a small mansion surrounded with a huge garden. He was not really fond of gardening and did not more than cutting the grass from time to time. That was why the garden looked a bit overgrown. It had a mysterious aura, as if many secrets were hidden in it.

Back to the topic at hand. Friday afternoons where always his favourite because on that particular day most people were exhausted from all the working/learning and wanted nothing more than to relax. That was why nearly no one phoned him during that time and he could do what he wanted without being interrupted. For example weapon-practising, exactly what he was going to do.

With a few graceful strides he was next to the door which led down to the cellar. The cellar of his house was nearly twice as big as the floors above the ground. He had divided it into five parts of various sizes. The biggest was his immensely huge library, thousands of books neatly organized in hundreds of shelves. Followed by his practicing arena, where he trained with swords, pistols and other weapons. Furthermore a bedroom (if he was too lazy to go all the way up), a soundproof recording studio with all his instruments and stuff and living room with useful technical equipment.

Many of the things mentioned such as the destroying of the walls and some of the furniture, for example the instruments, TVs, technical equipment, were all paid by the old lady before her death. She wanted the boy to be happy with his new home and knew that as a student being able to buy all that stuff would be impossible. He was eternally grateful and visited her grave every month to lay some flowers on her grave. He knew that it was not enough to thank her for all the things but it was all he could do. He also went to an animal shelter and brought two cats home with him.

The old lady had been a huge animal lover, mostly dog-lover, but well…he was not really fond of dogs and settled on cats. Two beautiful ones which won his heart in a few seconds. He named them Frozen and Flame. Frozen had a white fur, which looked almost blue in the right light, she loved to cuddle with him and always slept in his bed. Flame on the other hand had orange fur, white paws and was always strolling around in the garden. Too lazy to catch anything but enjoying the sun. As his name said looked his fur like fire in the sun.

At the moment those two were laying on the couch in the living room in the cellar. They went downstairs with him, always near him when he went to the house which was almost every day. When he didn´t come by a neighbour was so kind to look after them. He sat down and petted them for a while before standing up and heading to the practice arena.

Once there he choose to work with the pistols first. Shooting at various targets from different angles and positions. Next was one-hour sword practice, followed by dancing (he enjoyed it and it helped him building up muscles). Sweat streamed down his face and trenched his entire body, he liked to feel exhausted because then he knew that he had down something. It made him feel good. After a quick shower he wanted to get his desired sleep when music interrupted the silence. Looking for his phone he found it in the kitchen. He picked up and listened to the rambling of his best friend.

Ten minutes for one information. Today was a pack meeting and his presence was demanded. He swore under his breath, went up to change his clothes again, picked up his keys and left the house.

“Frozen, Flame, I will be back in a few hours. Be nice will I am gone and don´t destroy anything!” It was a habit they had picked up after he had left them alone too often. It was their way of demanding his attention. Soft meow answered his call and with a smile he closed and locked the door.

Jumping into his car he went off towards Derek´s house. Pack meeting again and on a Friday afternoon. He sighed and rubbed his temples. Being a werewolf was not easy, being Alpha was all the more tiresome. He was really happy that he had a good Beta who took most of the work out of his hands. Even if the only reason for that was that all people in beacon hills thought he was dumb or if they were nicer preferred the term naïve.

But well he had nothing against it, on the other hand, he even undermined that statement with the way he acted and his words. Nobody needed to know that he was not dumb but intelligent. It made things easier and less people demanded something from someone. That was one of the things he had learned when he was a small child.

Not that he was lazy or that he didn´t like to help people. No on the exact opposite he enjoyed helping people and providing them with necessary information, but….well you could call it an experiment of sorts.  
When he was a small boy of around eight years old his marks were excellent, but his father in his drunken stupor never paid any attention to them. Most of the time he had fun ripping them apart and laughing at his son´s thunderstruck face. Not that he hated his dad for that, actually his father didn´t matter to him at all. One parent was good enough, his mother was an angel. Coming back to the story…after some time he was just annoyed with his father´s behaviour but he couldn´t do anything against it. Furthermore his classmates hated him (he didn´t have any friends) because he always knew the answers to the teacher´s questions and was bored during classes. They bullied him, called him names and threw things at him. He was fed up and decided on a whim to never again show his intelligence.

But he didn´t want to leave it at that, he wanted them to leave him forever alone and so he decided to go a step further and make them think that he was dumb. And not only his enemies, also his friends and family. He was amazed how well his plan worked out and enjoyed his new freedom. After seeing how well the plan worked he began to write it down and made a study out of it. Since then nine years had passed and everything went as he wanted.

Only in his own home was he himself, only in his house did he get rid of his, over the years perfected, mask. Not even his own mother was able to discover who he really was. He had to admit that it made him kind of sad that nobody knew him. But he had wanted it that way and moments of doubt where too few to affect him.

The only thing which made him annoyed were relationships. During the time he spent with another person they always seemed to sense that he wasn´t entirely who he seemed to be. Of course they couldn´t name it but it made them break up with him. His long-term relationship with his ex-girlfriend Allison was the first to last that long and possibly she didn´t discover what his other partners did just because she was so absorbed in her own hunter problems.

He never was in love with anyone, never felt enough affection for any human being to even consider showing them who he really was. Well at least he liked to say that to himself…because once there was someone he liked. But the source of his affection, a boy who went to the same school with him, hated him.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn´t discover that he was standing in front of Derek´s house since a few minutes. Suddenly the door was wrenched open and his best friend Stiles grabbed his hand and dragged him into the house. “What were you doing? Spacing out at the front door. You shouldn´t think so much, Scotty. It doesn´t seem like it´s so good for you”, he said good natured and with a warm smile.

“Yeah. Possibly true”, Scott answered a little bit embarrassed. His mask perfectly back in place. He scolded himself for being so inattentive. “So what is the reason for this pack meeting? I don´t have much time.”

“Ah well yeah. We just got together to discuss some news and eat some pizza”, Stiles shrugged and went into the living room. Scott following suit.

All his friends were already there and sitting around, he got rid of his jacket and shoes and went inside. Looking around he greeted everyone and sat down next to Peter. All other seats were already occupied. And contrary to his outer behaviour he didn´t have anything against Peter, on the other hand he understood the older werewolf. To a certain degree at least.

“What are those news Stiles talked about”, he wanted to know as soon as he was seated.

Danny stood up and placed one of the popcorn bowls next to Scott. He grabbed a handful popcorn, shoved it into his mouth and smiled happily, always the cheerful person everyone thought he was. On the inside he was getting rather annoyed, being here for some probably uninteresting news on his Friday afternoon was not something to be happy about.

Everyone went silent and looked at him. Suddenly he heard a noise, he swallowed and froze on the spot. Footsteps got nearer and the others grew more annoyed with each passing second. The person on the other side of the door didn´t seem to be very welcome if the faces of his friends were anything to go by. Except Peter and Danny, the first was as always totally impassive and the other had a content look on his face to the unhappiness of his boyfriend Ethan.

Finally the door opened and a figure stepped into the room. His heart picked up a slightly faster pace (he had trained hard to be able to control his heartbeat better, being under werewolves had it disadvantages). The person for whom he once had felt affection, the one whom he had thought was away for good stood in the living room looking at him with those eyes which once were full of so much hatred.

  
He opened his mouth and only one word came past his momentary state of shock. “Jackson.”

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Dreams and Best Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully not to much OC...  
> Well anyways more news about Scott/Jackson in this chap  
> Please let me know what you think about the story so far :3

“Jackson since when are you…no screw that…what are you doing here?” His voice was ice-cold, betraying the storm inside his mind. Jackson looked paler as he used to, he also seemed to have lost weight but Scott couldn´t avoid noticing that Jackson was as handsome (if not more) as before. Warmth settled in his stomach. He wanted to stand up, hug the young man and never let him go.

As his thoughts settled down anger came to the surface. This was the werewolf who had left all of them and who had started a new life in London. The one who had left him alone with here, who had took the rest of his feelings away. He felt betrayed. Staring at Jackson with narrowed eyes he impatiently waited for an answer.

“Ähhm well…I…I wanted to see Danny again, that´s all, I am going to go now.” Jackson responded and turned around to leave the house. “But I understand that I´m not welcome. Excuse me.” He said over his shoulder, underlying irritation clear in his voice. Scott had forgotten that Jackson was easily irritable or probably he had hoped that the temper of the werewolf had been tamed during his absence.

Danny jumped up from the couch, followed his best friend and grabbed him by the wrist. “Stop being so childish, Jax. You promised to apologize. I want you here, we want you here. You are welcome. So please stay in Beacon Hills. Come home again, I missed my best friend. I need you Jax.”

Jackson´s shoulders relaxed and he exhaled. Turning around he hugged his friend, whispering a response into his ears. Over his shoulder he threw a look at Scott, the look in his eyes becoming soft and full of pain. “I´m sorry”, he said, so low even the werewolves had problems catching it. “I´m sorry for everything, I came to apologize. I missed Danny and the pack. And I really want to be on friendly terms with you. I don´t have to be a part of the pack, I just want to live in peace here in Beacon Hills. I hope you can at least allow me that much.”

After his speech silence overtook the room once again. Some members of the pack clearly uncomfortable with everything, others with forgiving and the rest with disdainful looks on their faces.

“I´m so totally against it”, Stiles spoke up. “He is and always will be an utter douchebag. We really don´t need him here.”

“That´s not your place to decide, Stiles. And moreover I think you saying that could be seen as you being selfish. I mean you never were a huge fan of him, I don´t say that you have to be his friend now. It´s just that he wants nothing more than living in peace in his hometown. Danny needs him here and I want nothing more than to always ensure that Danny is happy. If he needs Jackson for that so be it. But as I said before the only one who can decide that is our Alpha”, Ethan said to everyone´s surprise. Stiles looked at him and then averted his eyes in shame.

Danny looked at him with love in his eyes. “Thank you, I love you.”

All eyes turned to look at Scott who hadn´t looked away from Jackson the entire time. Should he ban Jackson from his life forever, forever being alone as a result or should he allow him to stay in Beacon Hills, near him and risking that his carefully hidden self came to the surface.

At the end he sighed, covered his eyes for a moment, shook his head and looked each of his friends in the eyes. “You can stay, you can have your peace. If you want to have interactions with the pack do as you wish. Some of them are your friends and I really can´t forbid you or them to meet so please do want you want. But I won´t allow you to be a part of the pack, before you can join it again you have to gain the trust of everyone in this room.” With that he stood up, strode to Jackson and stopped before him. “Do you understand?”

Looking him in the eyes Jackson answered. “Of course”, relieve clear in his voice and eyes. “I really appreciate it. Thank you”

Scott nodded, before speaking once again: “That was all, right? I have to go now, errands to run and stuff. See you around, just phone me when you need me,” he said to the room in general, smiling at his second in command Derek.

Closing the door behind him he went to his car. Driving away listening to good music in the radio his thoughts circulated around one thing, and one thing only. Jackson, Jackson, Jackson. An indescribable happiness filled him, chasing away all bad feeling he previously had harboured for the young werewolf. He was back in town, near him once again, the only person he ever felt affection for, the only person he ever….could he dare think it…the only one he ever loved.

…..

**Two weeks later**

Time flew by, two weeks had passed already since Jackson was back in town. Scott didn´t see him often or anyone of his other friends. He was busy working and studying. Moreover he felt exhausted, dreams haunting him. Not bad dreams, per se, but dreams so real he always thought they really had happened when he woke up. Disappointment filling him every time he discovered that he was lying in his bed alone. His dreams always were about him and Jackson. Sometimes talking, most of the time kissing and recently more than that. The last dream for example included him sleeping with each other after a run through the woods. It was lazy, dirty and fantastic. After waking up he had to take care of certain things under the shower, all the while thinking about the source of his momentary bodily problems.

He desperately earned for Jackson´s company but he couldn´t go near him. Whenever he saw him in town or elsewhere he always had to think about the time when they had first met. And the unclouded hatred in the other’s eyes. How could he possibly let him near him, how could he let the walls around him become lower. He wanted someone who knew who he really was but he also wanted to maintain the distance he had to others to avoid getting hurt.

…..

**One month later**

Scott had nearly cut all ties with his pack, he couldn´t bear to be near Danny, Lydia or Ethan, who had all been close to Jackson since he came back. They all reeked of the young werewolf and just being near them made all the dreams come to the surface. It would be more than embarrassing if one of them would see what that did to him. And because the pack was always together and often cuddling during movie nights for example even those who didn´t meet with Jackson smelled like him.

It was just unbearable. His desire to tell Jackson everything about his affection and then maybe making some of his dreams real became nearly impossible to ignore. He was torn between his to greatest wishes. And slowly his dreams turned into nightmares. As his dreams they also seemed totally real. Consisting mainly of a Jackson in pain or of his secret being exposed. Dark bags already formed under his eyes.

He knew that he had to meet his pack sooner rather than later, being their Alpha made it even more impossible to ignore them any longer. His mind was full of ideas how he could meet them without exposing one of his two secrets. Currently he was in the big library in the cellar of his house reading everything regarding werewolf mates.

Since the first time he had met Jackson he felt that there was a connection between them. With time, although they weren´t really involved in each other´s life, that connection became stronger and stronger. He thought that that was also the reason for the dreams and that now that Jackson was back that he couldn´t ignore it any longer.

A long time ago Peter had said something about mates, Scott only knew that mates existed but nothing more. Therefore he now sat in the library reading different books about that topic. So far he knew that there was only one mate for each werewolf. Born around the same time those two lived always near each other. But that didn´t mean that it was likely to find your mate. Only a few were lucky enough.

Because many people overlook things that are directly before their eyes. Mates always harboured strong feelings for each other. From admiration, love to jealousy and hate. Always strong, not always good but always feelings. Feelings were there. That was one of the indicators. The next step where the dreams. From the information he had gathered so far he assumed that is was likely that also Jackson was haunted by dreams.

When mates accepted their bond a real connection was opened and from that moment on they had a feeling of each other´s current emotional status. They also were able to share memories and sometimes even thoughts. Scott was so engrossed in reading that he didn´t hear the door above being opened.

He was so lost in his thoughts when he came home a few hours earlier that he forgot to lock the door. If someone listened closely he or she could hear steps going around upstairs, after a while those steps came nearer and down the staircase.

But because of the fascinating context of a book Scott didn´t hear anything and so it came as a big surprise and shock when suddenly a hand was laid down on his shoulder. He jumped in the air and cursed in different languages.

Calming down he sniffed the air but didn´t catch a scent. Wary he turned around, thoughts about hunters or psychotic killers run through his mind, but the person standing before him was none other than his best friend, aka Stiles Stilinksi.

Said best friend looked at him wide eyed, mouth hanging open and said: “Dude this house is seriously awesome. What the hell are you doing here and wait…did you just curse in different languages?”

Scott was flabbergasted. What the hell should he do with Stiles? How should he answer his questions? He knew that Stiles was one of the most intelligent persons in Beacon Hills, he would never believe anything like: I´m visiting an old friend. Or anything like that. And sadly that where the only things that came to his mind right now. So after a moment of contemplation he settled on the truth.

Turning around he went to a bookshelf and grabbed three books, he went back to Stiles, stuffed them in his hands and just said: “Read”, before turning around once again and heading upstairs. Stiles following him like a lost puppy.

“Sit down, I´m going to make coffee, this is definitely going to take a while. Start with the book with the number one written on the cover.” He pointed at the couch, then went into the kitchen and began making coffee.

Returning to his best friend he planted a steaming cup of coffee before him. Hesitantly looking at him he sat down next to him. Stiles rolled his eyes and started reading. The silence stretched, Scott started playing with his hair, waiting patiently for his companion to finish reading.

After half an hour Stiles lowered the books and stared at Scott. “So to get that straight: The truth is you are really intelligent, you deceived all of us and you are the mate of the biggest douchebag in the entire world. Does that sum it up?”

“Kind of. Yeah”

“Why the hell did you lie to me? I mean I know your reasons, you wrote them all down in that diary of yours and also your study talks about it…but what the fuck…I mean seriously Scott?!! How could you do that to me…to us…to me? I thought I was your best friend!!!

“Of course you are. And you always will be but I don´t know….”

Stiles stood up. “I´m really sorry Scott but that is difficult for me to understand. I need some time to think that through. Not that you were really present in pack and best buddy stuff nowadays anyway. But just don´t come near me for a while, ok? I´m going to contact you when I´m ready.” With that he headed out the door.

Scott sighed defeated. He knew something like this would happen if the truth ever came to the surface. To be sincere he had to admit that it wasn´t so bad, at least Stiles assumed he would talk to him after some time.

Today´s events had left him exhausted and tired, therefore he decided to let everything as it was and just head to bed. Stiles was angry at him and knew the truth about him now, Jackson was his mate and didn´t like him. He couldn´t be near his pack because they all smelled like his mate and that was torture for him. Life could definitely be better, but also be worse.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always Kudos and Comments appreciated. Thank you all for leaving Kudos : D


	3. Pancakes, Waffles and Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I did it : D  
> As promised a chapter before the start of October. It´s shorter than the other and please excuse my mistakes. I was rather tired when I wrote that, but I really did want to get it finished. I hope you will like it...  
> Well enjoy ; D  
> Oh and there is some more Jackson, Scott in this chaper

The sun started to slowly creep into the bedroom, past the sloppily closed curtains. Frozen and Flame started their concert, same as every morning, to gain his attention. He groaned, stretched and stood up and went down to the kitchen to fill their bowls with food.

Looking outside at the brightly burning sun he found the day to be rather friendly. Contradicting his mood and not helping his dark thoughts. After an uneventful sleep his mind was much clearer and a question he previously had totally forgotten about rose to the forefront of his mind. How had Stiles known about his house? Had he followed him home? And if he did that what did that say about their friendship? Don´t get him wrong but secretly following your best friend home was not a thing that people normally do.

He yawned and decided that in the end it didn´t really matter. If or rather when Stiles decided to come back to talk he would ask him about that and all would be forgiven. His wrongdoings greatly outshone the matter of Stiles following him after all.

Today was Saturday. No school and no pack obligations. Such a day was rather uncommon and he found that he was unsure what to do with it. After sitting down on the couch and cuddling with Frozen for a bit, he decided that the best course of action would be going out for a nice breakfast.

Jumping up, he went upstairs and showered. While under the warm spray his thoughts turned to Jackson and that he didn´t have a dream about him that night. Probably because he was just too exhausted. He did not really regret it as the dreams had turned into nightmares and those hadn´t gotten any better. Rather they had gotten worse. A dreamless sleep was the best he could have ever hoped for.

Grabbing a towel he went into his bedroom and to the walk-in closet. Deciding on a nice pair of black skinny jeans that complimented his legs and a comfortable soft grey t-shirt, he dressed. The shower had lifted his mood somewhat and he started humming a song while going down the stairs. On his way out of the house he picked up his black leather jacket and stepped into his red converse. Stuffing his phone and his wallet into the back pocket of his jeans he was finally finished and able to get breakfast. Calling a goodbye to his two cats he closed the door of his house.

He decided to leave the town and drive to the next biggest one. During the drive his appetite had rapidly increased and when he stopped at the dinner he was famished. Opening the door the bell jingled and the waiter behind the counter turned in his direction. The small smile that had been on her face rapidly turned into a full blown grin as she recognised him.

“Look at you. You look amazing as always Scottie, my boy. How are you on this fine day? Your usual, I presume?”

He smiled back. “Danna, thank you and you presume correctly. I´m fine, seeing you has just made my day. You don´t know how thankful I am for seeing a friendly face after the weeks I´ve had.”

And he was. He hadn´t even known how hard those last few weeks really had been for him until he saw a friendly smile on an unassuming face. He felt lighter, just being here in one of his favourite places with people that wanted nothing from him. With a small spring in his step he went to his usual place and sat down. Not a minute later Danna placed a plate with freshly made pancakes, waffles and fresh fruits down before him. Followed shortly after by a cup of heavenly smelling coffee.

“You look famished, my boy. Go on and start eating”, she said and sat down opposite him. The dinner was usually rather low on guests during this time of the day. It nearly being eleven am where they usually closed for a short amount of time. He liked it that way, no one to disrupt his eating or getting on his nerves in any other way.

The smell of his breakfast got to him and he finally started eating. Moaning in delight at the amazing taste his world was right again. Nothing better than pancakes if you had a bad time. And no one made better pancakes than Danna´s dinner. He had stumbled upon it during one of his excursions. While not having the money or the time to travel to other countries he did not want to just be in Beacon Hills the entire time. So he had started to drive to the towns and cities closest to his home and learn everything there was to know about them.

Hidden culinary treasures or breath-taking places had been his reward. One of those Danna´s dinner, and even better was that Danna seemed to have somewhat adopted him. He got a discount on everything and she even made him a cake on his birthday and stuff. She was like a second mother almost or rather an aunt, as no one would ever be able to be as amazing as his mother was.

After finishing his breakfast he and Danna started talking about the last few weeks. Seeing as she knew nothing about werewolves or the supernatural world, they mainly talked about school or his cats. Frozen and Flame were always doing something worth talking about, mischievous as they were.

“You will hardly believe it but just last Saturday Flame bathed in an open can of blue wall paint and left blue paw prints over my leather couch. When I tried to catch him, he just calmly jumped down from the couch and ran upstairs, where he then went to sleep in my bed. The paint was everywhere. It took me days to get it all clean again. I still don´t know where he got the paint…”

Just as he wanted to finish his report the bell jingled again. They had talked for at least an hour already and the brief lull between customers was already over. Customer after customer arrived. As he wanted to finish his tale, he detected a scent that he definitely didn´t want to smell right at that moment.

Turning around his eyes fixed on the familiar figure of his, as of now, unrequited love. His mate and one of the reasons why he had not been in the best of moods in the recent weeks. Hoping for a second that Jackson wouldn´t notice him, he tried to turn around, but a small sigh and a burning gaze stopped his every move.

Captivated he stared into the eyes of his mate, until his shoulders slumped and he sent a defeated smile in his direction. Danna, who had followed his gaze, looked back at him, smiled and stood up. “Have fun with your friend, I need to get back to work”, she said and left to greet some customers.

He turned back around and stared at his empty plate. What should he do? Should he talk with Jackson, with his mask back in place? Should he just ignore him or try to establish a friendship with him? Before he could really decide on something, he heard a throat be cleared behind him. A soft voice spoke up shortly after.

“Hello Scott. It´s nice to see you. I didn´t know that you knew about this place.”

“Ah yes, I found it during one of my trips. Would you like to sit down?”

Internally he panicked. Why the hell had he said that? He didn´t want Jackson anywhere near him. What if he slipped up and mentioned the dreams or words escaped about them being mates? But before he could retract his statement, Jackson had already sat down. Mustering him he saw the dark circles beneath his eyes. It looked like his mate was plagued by the same nightmares he was. And he should really stop thinking about Jackson as his mate that would only get him in trouble.

A stilted silence developed between them. Neither knew what to say to the other. They never had been friends and they didn´t know if it was even possible after all that had happened between them. But how he wanted it, he yearned for it and wasn´t life also about forgiveness? About new beginnings and second chances?

Deciding to at least be polite he asked Jackson about his life since being back in Beacon Hills, about Danny and Lydia. The conversation, once started, took its course and never once wavered. It was surprising really, that they could talk that much with the other. The topics of their conversation were all light and they never strayed into the supernatural world.

Time flew by and before they knew it, they had to leave because the dinner would close shortly. Deciding to meet again for coffee the next day, he left for his car. The day had turned out to be more than good and maybe the mate stuff could really work.

On his way home his mood turned dark once again. Of course it could not work. How could he even think it could? During their talk his mask never once crumbled. Jackson did not know the real him and he was not sure if he could ever show him his real self. Something drastic had to happen for him to lose his hold on his mask, he was sure of that. For years he never once had been himself with other people. He knew that a relationship could not work if one of them was not who he seemed to be. A foundation made of lies would sooner or later crumble.

Lost in his thoughts he did not see the deer until it was too late. Swerving wildly to the left his reaction wasn´t fast enough to stop him from crashing into a tree. And all went dark.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated :)


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